UK snow and weather latest: Commuters face travel nightmare after coldest night in seven years as heavy snowfall and ice sweeps Britain

Commuters face more travel chaos after heavy snowfall across much of southern England last night left hundreds of people trapped in their cars.

Temperatures plummeted overnight to as low as -15.4C as England and Wales experienced their coldest night since 2012.

A severe snow and ice alert has been issued by the Met Office for large parts of the country, with forecasters warning drivers could become stranded on roads on Friday morning.

It comes as efforts to rescue motorists stranded on snowbound roads in Devon and Cornwall continued through the night, while hundreds of people were forced to find shelter where they could.

UK Snow 2019 - In pictures

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There have also been warnings of flight cancellations at Heathrow. British Airways said some short-haul flights to and from the airport have been cancelled or merged.

Disruption for rail passengers is also expected.

A bus drives through snowfall in Cricklewood on Friday morning.
Jeremy Selwyn

Southeastern, which runs services in London, Kent and East Sussex, has put its “winter weather timetable” in place and warned travellers to expect peak times to be busier than normal.

Snowfall in Nottinghill on Friday morning.
Jeremy Selwyn

South Western Railway warned passengers to expect delays and that trains may be cancelled while work is done to check and clear the tracks.

Commuters woke up to severe delays on the London Overground Friday morning as ice on the tracks caused power supply problems.

There was no service between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction and severe delays between Gospel Oak and Barking.

Cars stuck in the snow on the A30 in chaotic scenes on Thursday night
PA

Meanwhile, Bournemouth Airport has said its airfield is closed "until further notice" due to snow.

It said: "Clearing operations are under way and a further update will be made at 0700."

Bristol International Airport has also come to a standstill, as teams worked through the night to clear snow from the airfield.

Snow is still falling & the airfield remains closed until 0800. Please monitor our social media feed for a further update and contact your airline for specific flight queries,” it said.

An amber snow warning has been issued for an area west of London including parts of Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire, with stranded vehicles and power cuts "likely", and a "good chance" some rural communities could be cut off.

Snow at Heathrow Airport has caused long travel delays for passengers.
Alex Lentati

t comes after around 100 cars got stuck on a stretch of the A30 by Temple, Cornwall amid the freezing conditions last night. An "intensive effort" was under way to help the motorists, who had become stranded, police said.

While the southwest was worst hit by the snow, the freezing weather is moving across southern England and Wales, affecting Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Dozens of schools in Corwall, where snow was laying at least 12cm deep, will be closed on Friday. Across Devonshire 34 schools have also said they will be closed or partially closed.

Students at a collage in the county were forced to remain there overnight due to the severe weather.

Temperatures in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, plunged to minus 14.5C (5.9F) on Thursday evening, which is the lowest temperature recorded anywhere in the UK since 2012, according to the Met Office.

The snowfall already exceeds the maximum 10cm of snowfall that was predicted when the forecaster issued a severe weather warning for yesterday.

Cornwall Airport, which is near Newquay, was forced to temporarily close on Thursday because of the snow, and around 100 cars got stuck on a nearby stretch of the A30 by Temple.

Snow flurries in Piccadilly Circus, central London (NIGEL HOWARD)
Nigel Howard

An "intensive effort" is under way to help the motorists, according to Chief Inspector Adrian Leisk, head of roads policing across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

Matt Argyle, 46, who got stuck on the A30 travelling eastbound near Temple, said he had been sat in the same spot for five hours.

The Tower of London during a light snow shower in London.
PA

He said: "A police search and rescue vehicle has just driven past, but that's the first service vehicle I've seen. There's no cars on the other side of the road so it must be completely blocked somewhere."

The IT specialist has managed to stay warm using a sleeping bag and extra clothes he had packed in his car.

Journalism student Georgette Beacham, 28, got caught in the snow while returning from Plymouth to Falmouth.

She said: "Everyone was driving slowly but particularly on the hills, cars were jack-knifing and people were getting stuck going up hill and skidding going down hill and having to pull over."

A plough and a gritter have been sent to help the drivers who are backed up along the snow-coated carriageway, according to images on social media.

Cars stuck in the snow on the A30 near Newquay
PA

There were also vehicles stuck on the A39 between Winnards Perch and Wagebridge, and Cornwall Council tweeted: "Please stay with your car. We have gritters on the way and they will clear the roads as quickly as possible."

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service said motorists were stuck on the A38 near Haldon Hill and the A380 near Ideford Dip.

Emergency services have warned drivers to stay in their cars and keep warm.

The Met Office tweeted: "Snow, initially moving north and east across parts of southern and southwestern England, the Midlands and Wales, will stall and tend to fragment.

"Wintry showers will continue in northern and eastern areas. Ice is likely in many parts overnight."

There are "treacherous driving conditions in places", the forecaster added.

Snow depths of 8cm in Cumbria and 7cm in Inverness-shire were also recorded by the Met Office on Thursday evening, although this is believed to be mostly leftover from Wednesday.

Commuters in many parts of the country were warned to leave work early on Thursday to ensure they got home.

Transport for London had advised commuters to try to finish their journeys before 9pm last night, due to the adverse weather.

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